Impact of the 2009 WIC Food Package Changes on Maternal Dietary Quality

The impact of the 2009 changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on mothers receiving WIC benefits was evaluated using repeated, cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003-2006 (231 participants) and 2011-2014 (81 participants). Linear regression models assessed maternal dietary quality (measured by Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores) over time. After the 2009 changes, there was no significant change in total HEI-2010 scores among maternal WIC participants. The 2009 WIC changes may have been inadequate to address the financial and cultural barriers to a healthful diet faced by low-income mothers of young children.